Zion nuclear power plant

Keith Matheny Detroit Free Press Published 9:00 AM EDT Oct 19, 2018 More than 60,000 tons of highly radioactive spent nuclear fuel is stored on the shores of four of the five Great Lakes — in some cases, mere yards from the waterline — in still-growing stockpiles. “It’s actually the most dangerous waste produced by any industry in the history of the Earth,” said Gordon Edwards, president of the nonprofit Canadian Coalition for Nuclear Responsibility. The spent nuclear fuel is partly from 15 current or former U.S. nuclear power plants, including four in Michigan, that have generated it over the past 50 years or more. But most of the volume stored along the Great Lakes, more than 50,000 tons, comes from Canadian nuclear facilities, where nuclear power is far more prevalent. It remains on the shorelines because there's still nowhere else to put it. The U.S. government broke a promise to provide the nuclear power … [Read more...] about Radioactive nuclear waste sits on Great Lakes’ shores

In Zion, Illinois, 257 acres of prime lakefront property about 40 miles northwest of Chicago should be at the center of a redevelopment plan to revive a struggling community caught in the aftermath of a closed nuclear plant, says its mayor, Al Hill. But after decades of federal inaction on a comprehensive strategy to move the nation’s high-level radioactive waste from some 121 sites across the country, Zion and its local officials are coming to the same stark realization as many other communities with shuttered or aging plants: The federal government’s foot-dragging on nuclear waste policy may seem as long as the radioactive materials’ 10,000-year half-life. Some 64 so-called dry cask storage units containing 2.2 million pounds of deadly spent nuclear fuel rods are stored on the site of what was the Zion Nuclear Power Station, the remnants from generating nuclear power since 1974. And they’ve left Zion in a kind of purgatory, unable to move on from its nuclear … [Read more...] about Failures of Congress Keep Nuclear Waste Scattered Across the US

A bill on nuclear waste policy that would restart the Yucca Mountain depository in Nevada was approved by the the U.S. House of Representatives Thursday, including an amendment introduced by U.S. Rep. Brad Schneider that also calls for a task force to be created to help communities like Zion that have stranded nuclear waste.The 10th District Democrat said the amendment requires the secretary of energy to assemble a stranded nuclear waste task force that would identify existing resources and funding opportunities throughout the federal government to assist communities in the decommissioning process.“For too long, communities like Zion have been saddled with housing our nation’s stranded nuclear waste while the federal government has failed to meet its legal obligation to find a permanent repository,” Schneider said in a statement following Thursday morning’s vote on Capitol Hill.His amendment calls for the Department of Energy to complete the study in 180 days … [Read more...] about Zion’s effort to shed lakefront nuclear waste backed by U.S. House vote

John Locher / AP This photo shows the south portal of the proposed Yucca Mountain nuclear waste dump near Mercury. By Sun Staff (contact) Sunday, May 6, 2018 | 2 a.m. In conjunction with a legislative committee hearing in late April on the proposed Yucca Mountain high-level nuclear waste repository, the Las Vegas Sun invited locals to make their opinions heard on the project. More than 150 people responded, with those opposing the project outnumbering supporters by a roughly 2-to-1 margin. This week, the Sun will publish representative responses. In some cases, the letters have been edited for brevity and clarity. We thank all readers who voiced their opinions on the controversial topic. • • • One accident would cause lasting harm I am appalled that this subject just won’t die. We are a state — maybe the only one — that does not reap any benefits from a nuclear power plant. Clark County and Las Vegas are adding more residents daily, bringing … [Read more...] about Readers sound off on Yucca Mountain